


With the Force of a Wave

by talesandthings



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Aaron Hotchner, Friendship, M/M, Oblivious Hotch, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Reid, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-07 14:20:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4266474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesandthings/pseuds/talesandthings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First there was friendship, then the rest just followed through. </p><p>Or in which Dr. Spencer Reid came barreling into Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner's life and changed everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The One where Hotch has a Sense of Humor

**Author's Note:**

> Hotch may seem a little out of character at first, but I feel that he was bit jovial at first. Like his comment about "the Reid effect" in the pilot and such, so he does have a sense of humor.
> 
> Oh and the title was taken from the song "Nothing Without Love" by Nate Reuss.

Hotch had never planned on letting a 21 year let his true self out and make him break from his usual no nonsense exterior but it happened. 

One morning, an awkward 21 year old came fumbling into his office, profusely apologizing for being late to the interview, although he was only a minute late, and won Hotch over within 10 minutes into the interview. 

Hotch didn’t easily make friends, let alone with someone so much younger than himself, not that he would quite call Reid a friend, but he found that their mutual liking of Star Trek and Doctor Who made it _easier_ for the pair to talk and nerd out. Hotch usually had this stoic looking plastered on his face, and everything about him screamed he wasn't to be messed with, but he let himself go with Dr. Spencer Reid and didn't balk at the idea of talking to the man about something other than work. He didn't exactly let go off his professionalism but he didn't mind humoring the young mathematician. 

After Reid’s successful interview, Hotch had no problem in recommending him to the Section Chief, who was thoroughly impressed with Reid's intellect but was wary of his inability to participate in hand to hand combat and his pacifist attitude, which forbade him from using firearms.

Hotch assured her that he would personally take care of Reid’s training and that’s how he found himself in the FBI training facility at 5 AM in the morning, much to his wife’s chagrin who was already tired of not spending enough time with her husband.

It became apparent to Hotch that Reid wasn’t a morning person, the moment the young genius came tumbling into the training center with a Venti size Coffee and looking like he would topple over any moment and face plant on the hardwood floor.

Hotch always liked the idea of being a coach and thus he had decided to go with the whole ensemble this morning, including the whistle. So the Unit Chief took this as the perfect opportunity to blow said whistle and fully wake the Doctor. 

He loudly blew on it but then chastised himself for doing so, when Reid startled and shook the coffee cup, spilling the hot liquid all of his hand and lower arm.

“SHIT!” he screamed and dropped the cup on the floor, spilling the coffee everywhere.

“Oh crap. Reid!” Hotch bolted forward and took Reid’s hand to examine it. “Come on we need to put your hand under cold water” he gently pulled the younger man with him, who wasn’t budging and was warily looking at the floor instead.

“What about the floor? You’re gonna get in trouble, Hotch” he replied worriedly and Hotch shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of that”

 Reid silently followed Hotch into the bathroom and Hotch opened the tap and held Reid’s hand under it.

“Sorry for startling you” Hotch awkwardly apologized. He wasn’t usually the apologizing type but he knew when an apology was due, like right now.

“It’s okay. I- I’m just not used to waking up this early” Reid replied examining his own arm and hissed “Damn”

Hotch looked down again and noticed the spot was turning red, which made him even more guilty.

“Bet this isn’t how you expected the first day of training to go, huh?” he asked biting his lower lip and keeping a firm hold on Reid's hand

“I’ve had worse” Reid joked and Hotch raised an eyebrow at the younger man.

“Worse than your boss to-be getting you a second degree burn on your first day of training” Hotch realized how horrible that sounded and hoped Reid wouldn’t sue the FBI because that would destroy his whole career. Yes, Hotch knew how selfish that sounded but he worked hard to get where he was. 

“What can I say, Las Vegas High School traumatizes people” Reid shrugged and then pulled his hand from under the water and Hotch’s grip.

Hotch knew there was a story there the way Reid’s whole demeanor changed and he started looking down. But he didn’t press because he’d only known this guy for a day and he didn’t want to pry.

Instead of asking anything, he diverted his attention elsewhere and pulled out a few paper towels from the dispenser and handed them to Reid.

“Dry your hand and then I can take us to my office, I have a First Aid kit there. I don’t know where they keep the kit here” Hotch informed him and watched as Reid gently dried the wound. 

“What about the mess outside?” Reid questioned looking up at his future boss. 

“We can come back and clean it up” Hotch answered and smiled cheekily.

“We?” Reid furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at his hand and then back at Hotch and then back at his hand again.

“Yeah we. And that will be your lesson number 2 for today” Hotch laughed and slapped Reid on the back, who stumbled forward from the impact.

Hotch immediately retracted his arm and kept it by his side. He really didn't want to hurt the man further and scare him away.

“Lesson number 2?” Reid continued to question, after he steadied himself and tried not to fall over.

“Yep. Lesson number 1 was to stay awake during training or get burned” Hotch joked and then realized that it was probably too soon to joke about that. 

“Sorry.” he quickly added.

“It’s okay. I like your sense of humor”

Now that made Hotch balk and look at the younger man like he had grown a second head.

“My sense of _humor_? Don’t say that in front of anyone at the BAU or else they’ll think you’re crazy. And trust you me you don’t want that” he tried to deflect from the situation because this was definitely a new for him. During his whole time at the BAU no one had ever implied that he was funny.

“Well then we’ll keep it our little secret” Reid winked and then moved towards the door and left before Hotch could reply.

Hotch just snorted out a small laugh and followed the young genius.

This man was definitely going to be a riot. 


	2. The One where Hotch Quits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer has a way with words and he knows exactly what Hotch needs to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on a roll today. I never write two chapters in the same day but I was just really inspired today.

**8 months later...**

“6 minutes”

Hotch heard from behind him, as he leaned on the ledge of the roof and looked out at the city. He didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

“Not today, Reid” he grumbled and continued take a puff from the cigarette between his middle and forth fingers.

“We couldn’t have done anything, Hotch. He chose to run” Reid ignored his protest like always and continued to speak.

The older man could hear footsteps coming towards and sighed. He lit out the cigarette on the concrete ledge and turned around to look at his subordinate.

“We could have kept him from jumping. We could have avoided dynamic entry and used a different tactic”

“We don’t know if it would have worked, Hotch. He would have still run” Reid placated him and Hotch noticed how he was about to reach out and pat his shoulder but then decided against it, and shoved his hands into his pant pockets instead. 

“You don’t know that, Reid.” Hotch argued and reached into his front pocket to take out the pack of cigarette again. He took out one and put the rest in his pocket. He then patted his pant pockets to find the lighter. Once he did, he lit up the cigarette and put it between his lips to take a drag. 

Reid’s eyes were intently on him this whole time and although Hotch has never been intimidated by being stared down, he was getting a little uncomfortable under the young genius’ gaze.

“Yeah you’re right. I don’t know if he would have jumped. But what I do know is that smoking a pack of cigarette isn’t going to change anything” he admonished.

Hotch glared at Reid and took out the cigarette from between his lips “What are you trying to say, Reid?”

Reid sighed and looked a little scared as he replied “That you can’t rely on a cigarette to make that ache in your chest go away. And also that you need to talk to someone about this, and not repress it.”

Hotch hated the pitiful look Reid was giving him and he turned back to admire the orange glow of the evening sun over Quantico. “Watch me”

He knew he sounded petulant but this was how he always dealt with his problems and no one ever questioned him on it before. But apparently the new hire was a rebel. 

Hotch was startled when the younger man snatched the cigarette from between his lips, before Hotch even had time to react. “What the-”

He turned to glare at the younger man. He never thought Reid had the nerve to do something like that. What shocked him even more was the fact that Reid now had the cigarette between his own lips instead. “What are you doing?” Hotch asked incredulously.

Reid took the cigarette out to speak, but instead he broke into a fit of coughs as he unsuccessfully tried to exhale.

Hotch snatched the cigarette away from Reid and rubbed his ack to help him get some relief from the cough. “You’re supposed to exhale it, not inhale it, Reid” he chastised.

Before the Unit Chief even knew what he was doing, he threw the cigarette down and crushed it with his patent leather oxford.

After a few minutes, Reid stopped coughing and Hotch took away his hand from the genius’ back.

He was still concerned for the man though “You okay?”

Reid straightened up and cleared his throat. When he looked up at Hotch, the older man noticed how his eyes had turned watery because of all the coughing and that actually made him feel guilty.

“I’ll live” Reid replied in a hoarse voice and Hotch sighed “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I’ll be spending 6 less minutes with my friend, every time he lights a cigarette because he’d rather leave himself at the mercy of an inanimate object that could most likely give him lung cancer, than talk about his issues with the people who care about him. God, Hotch, you’re smarter than this. What happened to Brian Matloff wasn’t anyone’s fault but his own. He chose to run and then jump off a building than pay for his crimes. And I know that you’re worried that he’ll probably never wake up and be prosecuted for his crimes, but you know what? That’s not something you have to worry about anymore. You’re not a Prosecutor, you’re an FBI agent who did his job and caught the guy who committed 4 murders. If you can’t celebrate that then just think about all the lives that have been saved now that the Blueridge Strangler is off the streets” The whole rant left Reid exhausted and he looked at his boss optimistically, but Hotch just stared back in shock.

“You consider me a friend?” he finally asked

Reid’s eyes widened and then he burst out in a fit of laughter. “ _That's_ what you got out of the whole speech?”

Hotch didn’t join in the laughter and just continued to stare at Reid. Reid noticed that Hotch didn't find the situation hilarious, so he stopped laughing and sheepishly looked at his boss. “Sorry. Yeah, I do consider you a friend, Hotch. You helped me achieve my dream. You believed in me, when even I didn’t. I mean I was a stranger to you back then but you still personally trained me and ultimately helped me become an FBI agent.” he answered emotionally and looked at Hotch with glassy eyes.

Hotch was lost for words for the first time in his life.

“I mean granted I absolutely failed at the physical and weapon training, but still…” Reid added and this made Hotch laugh a little.

“How about we make a deal? Every time you feel like a case is weighing you down, you come talk to me. I may not have the answers, but I can promise that I will be all ears” He proposed and put a hand in front of Hotch.

Hotch knew it was a good proposition, and that he should take it, but he didn’t know if he could do this. These cigarettes were like a crutch and he needed them, every time he felt like he was unable to walk.

After thinking long and hard, Hotch decided that maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to talk to someone about what was eating at him. So he slowly took out the pack and hesitantly put it on Spencer’s wide open hand, as he made the pact. 

“Okay”

  
  



	3. The One Where Hotch doesn't have a Playdate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Hotch's wife, Haley, asks him to invite his new friend over for dinner, Hotch doesn't know what to expect.

When Haley asked Hotch to invite his “new friend” over for dinner, Hotch was more than surprised and he felt like a child being asked to invite his friend over for a play date.

Although he knew Haley didn’t mean anything by it, she was just curious to meet the person who had left a huge impression on her husband and who Hotch wouldn’t stop talking about.

So at precisely 7 PM on a Sunday evening, Reid was on their doorstep looking sharp. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing his usual ensemble of brown pants and white shirt, but he had paired it with a brown corduroy jacket.  He was clutching onto his messenger bag, like he always did, and to Hotch’s surprise he was also clutching onto a bouquet of white lilies.

“Aaron are you going to invite him in?” Haley asked, snapping Hotch out of his thoughts and he immediately stepped aside.   
“Sorry” he apologized.

“It’s okay” Reid replied awkwardly and Hotch could visibly see Reid become self-conscious all of a sudden, as he grabbed the bouquet and his messenger bag strap in one hand and straightened his jacket a little with the other.

“You must be Dr. Reid?” Of course unlike Hotch, Haley had more manners and she smiled warmly at the young doctor, as she offered to shake hands with him instead of offending him like her husband had.

For some reason Hotch always ended up in a foot in mouth situation around Reid.

Haley's kindness brought a small smile on the younger profiler’s face and he slowly stretched his hand forward to shake hands with Hotch’s wife.

“Doctor would be okay. I mean Spencer would be okay. Or Reid… whichever you prefer” he stuttered nervously and Haley giggled.

When Reid seemed to remember that he had a bouquet with him, he fumbled with it and tried giving it to Haley, but they fell out of his hands.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed and got down to pick up the bouquet. Haley looked at Hotch and smirked, who just shrugged at her.

Taking pity on the young doctor, the older woman got down and helped him pick up the lilies.

“They’re really pretty” she commented and Spencer looked at her sheepishly

“Thank you, Mrs. Hotchner”

“Oh.. You can call me Haley if you’d like” she assured him. Hotch was sometimes in awe of how brilliant his wife was. She was such a compassionate woman who knew how to make people feel at ease. 

Reid just smiled at her and went back to collect the flowers. Once he was done, Haley took them from him and rearranged them.

“I’ll put them in a vase”

“B-but they’re damaged”

“Nonsense” Haley replied and smelled the flowers “They’re perfect. Thanks Reid”

With that she was gone and Hotch and Reid stood there, not knowing what to do or say. Hotch guessed that was because they were in a different territory, outside of their office.

“Aaron, can you come in here please?” his wife called from the kitchen.

“Coming!” he replied and looked up at Reid.

“Um take a seat in the living room, I’ll be right back” he bolted from there before Reid had a chance to respond.

“What happened?” he asked entering the kitchen and was met by his wife’s glare. “What?” he asked confusedly.

“Aaron, why are you acting so weird around him? The poor thing looks scared out of his mind and you’re not making it easy for him”

“What am I supposed to do, this is new for me? I hardly invite my coworkers over for dinner” Aaron crossed his arms across his chest.

Haley sighed and put her hands on her hips, as she continued to glare at her husband. “Well do what you do when Gideon or Dave come over”

“You want me to a smoke cigar and drink whiskey with him while talking about politics and watching American Copper?” he questioned sarcastically.

Haley just rolled her eyes at him. She went over to the fridge, took out two bottles of beer and handed them to him.

“No, tonight you should act your age, and not a 50 year old dad with a beer gut”

Hotch laughed as he took the beer bottles from them and waved them in front of her “You see the irony of you just said right?” he teased.

She playfully punched him on the shoulder “Shut up”

Hotch kept laughing as he walked out of the kitchen and went back to the living room, where Reid was silently sitting on the couch with his hands folded on his lap and his messenger bag lying down by his feet.

“I dunno, if you drink, but here” he offered the younger man a beer 

“Thanks”

Hotch smiled and sat down beside Reid. He and Reid never had this much awkwardness between them, but things had changed a little in the past few days and Hotch couldn’t put a finger on what it was.

“Reid, is everything okay?” he asked, looking at the younger man’s hands where he was playing with the sticker of the bottle.

He suddenly looked up, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Y-yeah. Why do you ask?”

Hotch knew the younger profiler was hiding something but he decided against prying because that was just not in his nature.

Instead he cleared his throat and took a sip from his own beer bottle. “Do you wanna smoke a cigar?” he joked, trying to cut through the thick cloud of awkwardness that was between them.

The look on Reid’s face almost made him laugh, as the younger man furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips in a manner that was almost comical.

“You know I’m against smoking, Hotch” he reminded the older man

“Well that usually works with Gideon” Hotch laughed and leaned back on the couch, as he relaxed a little.

“Anything works with Gideon” Reid retorted but then he probably realized how wrong that sounded because he bit his tongue and chuckled. “Oh god, it sounded better in my head”

Hotch’s laughter became louder and he shook at his head at the younger man. “It's all good." 

Reid visibly relaxed too and he put the beer down on the coaster and leaned back on the couch, putting his hands on the couch, instead of nervously holding them on his lap. Hotch noticed that he hadn’t drank any of his beer either.

“You don’t drink?” he asked, nodding towards the full bottle.

Reid’s shoulders bunched up and looked at Hotch like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice”

“You were hoping I wouldn’t notice when you don’t pick up the beer bottle to take a drink? Reid, I wouldn’t have to be a profiler to notice that” Hotch accused and then chuckled a little to let the younger man know that it was okay.

“I’m sorry… I don’t want you think that I’m boring or anything… I jus- I had a bad experience with beer at MIT, which ended up with me throwing up during my Thermodynamics qualifying examination” The absolute look of horror on Reid’s face would have been funny, had Hotch not known how bad it must have been for the younger profiler. 

Hotch knows just how important the qualifying examinations are for someone trying to get into the MIT PhD program and to throw up during one of them, that couldn’t have been good.

“Then what did you do?” he asked worriedly

“I played it off. Pretended that it was nerves” he replied sheepishly and looked so innocent and guilty that made Hotch almost wanna hug the younger man.

“That’s rough… And I don’t think you’re boring by the way. I’m not a huge fan of beer either” Hotch told him sympathetically.

“Then why do you have them in your house?”

That caught Hotch off-guard “Because- Uh- I don’t know..” he answered honestly. Neither he or Haley enjoyed beer all that much, so it just always set in their fridge for guests. “Look, Haley and I haven’t been married very long. Nobody gave us a how-to-be-the-perfect-white-couple-in-the-middle-class-suburb guidebook, so we just went off what we saw on television and what Haley read about in those Home Living magazines she despises” he confessed dejectedly and his shoulders slumped.

Reid was looking at him in awe and that made Hotch feel a little uneasy, but then the younger man giggled, actually _giggled_.

“And what you guys got was that you’re supposed to buy beer to be that couple?” he teased and Hotch frowned at the younger man for mocking his misery.

“Hey I’m not judging” he put his hands up in surrender “I think it is kind of endearing that you guys are trying to fit into your surroundings. I won’t lie, I was albeit surprised when I saw the neighborhood you live in. It just seems unlike you. It’s the kind of place I imagine you grew up in but always hated because of the superficiality it represented”

“Reid, what did I tell you about inter-group profiling?” he warned the younger man. 

“Oh come on. It’s like you never did that the first time you visited Gideon’s or Morgan’s place” Reid accused, not at all intimidated by Hotch’s tone.

“Touche” Hotch replied and raised the bottle to pretend cheers.

They talked for what seemed hours and then Haley was calling them in the kitchen before Hotch knew it. He looked up at the clock and realized that it was only 8:30.

“Come on, Reid. Let’s go eat” he said getting up.

“Um sure but first… where’s the bathroom?” he asked fidgeting with his hands.

“Down the corridor and to the left. Once you’re done the kitchen is that way” he pointed behind him.

Reid nodded and walked away, while Hotch collected both of their undrunk beer bottles.

When he got to the kitchen, Haley was on him immediately “So how’d it go?” she asked with a glimmer in her eyes that terrified Hotch a little.

“What do you mean? We just talked like we always do”

“Okay. Good. Just don’t scare him away” she warned him sternly, which made Hotch snort.

“With the way you’re acting, you’re gonna do that for me” he teased and moved to the sink to pour the beer down the drain.

He heard his wife huff behind him and he smirked “Aaron, I’m not kidding. Ever since he’s come around, you’ve started staying happier and the job isn’t weighing you down as much. He’s given me back the Aaron I knew in high school.” she explained and moved closer to touch Hotch’s cheek, who put an arm around her waist “I love you Aaron and I wish you would talk to me about your problems, but you don’t, so I’m glad there is someone you could talk to and you’re not keeping everything inside. And that’s why I don’t want you to scare him away”

“He’s not” came a sheepish reply came from the entrance of the kitchen and the couple turned to see Reid standing there looking anywhere but at them. 

Hotch immediately let go off his wife and the couple blushed, and now it was their turn to look like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“Ahem.. yeah I’ll set the dinner table” Haley said awkwardly and moved to put the pasta pot on the table. “I hope you like Alfredo Chicken Tortellini” she asked the doctor.

“Yes, thanks Mrs. Hotchner” Reid replied and moved to sit down at the table, while Hotch did the same after washing his hands.

Hotch could tell that Haley was a little disappointed at Reid calling her Mrs. Hotchner but being the sweet woman that she was, she chose not to correct Reid and just smiled warmly at him.

Reid slowly took some food onto his plate and waited for Haley and Hotch to do the same before eating.

The silence was a little uncomfortable and Haley desperately looked at Hotch, who looked back reassuringly. 

“So um.. Reid.. Hotch tells me you are working towards a undergrad degree in Philosophy right now? That was my major in college” she tried starting a conversation, which caught Reid’s interest and looked up at her.

“Yeah.. What school did you go to?” he asked with interest

“Yale. My dad never believed that I would get in, so I took it as a challenge”

Reid chuckled a little and seemed impressed, which made Haley relax and smile more.  

“Yeah… I got three PhDs to piss my dad off too” he replied proudly “Yale was my safety school actually”

After that Haley and Reid continued talking and Hotch only chimed in when they asked him something. Haley put her free hand on Hotch’s lap, who took it and held it there.

After dinner, Hotch offered to clean up, letting Reid and Haley talk in the living room. 

“Would you like dessert wine?” Haley asked the young doctor.

Reid perked up a little and nodded “Yes. I would, thank you” he replied and Haley retreated to the kitchen to grab it. 

Once there, Hotch pulled Haley to him and pressed a kiss on her thin lips. “Thanks for doing this”

Haley wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him once more. “I’m not doing this for you. I have ulterior motives.”

“What to get him drunk on dessert wine and take advantage of him?” Hotch teased, which got a jab to ribs. “Ow” he winced in pain.

“No, smartass, I want him to like me and stay friends with you” she replied and took two wine glasses from the cupboard and the wine, before going back to the living room.

Hotch started putting the dishes in the dishwasher and tried hard not to eavesdrop on what Haley and Reid were talking about. It was hard not to because they were both laughing now, and call Hotch self-centered, but he felt like they were talking about him. He only hoped she wouldn’t tell him about the “Liam Neeson incident” because that would make his new friend definitely run for the hills.

While the dishes were in the dishwasher, Hotch started cleaning the table and count, and once was satisfied with the condition of the kitchen, he put the chairs back in their position and went out to the living room to his wife and coworker.

His eyebrows shot up when he noticed that half of the wine bottle was gone.

The two inhabitants of the living room stopped laughing and looked at him.

“Aaron come here and tell Spencer to stay for a bit” Haley held out her hand and Aaron took it, as he sat down on the arm of the couch and put his arm around his wife’s shoulder.

“I can’t, Mrs. Hotchner. We have work tomorrow morning”

“Don’t worry, I can make sure your boss doesn’t chastise you for being late” she teased and kissed Hotch’s cheek.

It didn’t pass Hotch’s notice that Reid looked away when he and Haley became affectionate. Maybe he just disliked public displays of affection.

“Sorry, Mrs. Hotchner, but I really gotta go” he said hurriedly after getting up. He picked up his bag from the floor and turned to shake hands with Haley. "It was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for dinner" 

Haley pouted a little, and Hotch knew she was already tipsy. But she got up and pulled Reid in for a hug instead startling the younger man. He obviously didn’t know what to do and let his hands hang beside him instead of hugging her back. The whole scenario almost made Hotch laugh.

“Come back again.” she told him and then let Reid go, but not before squeezing him one more time.

“I highly doubt he will, after you scared him like that, Haley” Hotch teased her and she pouted again.

Reid really seemed terrified, as he almost ran towards the door. Hotch followed the poor guy and opened the door for him.

“I’m sorry about her.” He whispered in his ear, and noticed how Reid shuddered and stepped away from him. Well that was weird.

“B- um- bye, Hotch” he said in a small voice and then cleared his throat to look at Haley instead. “Bye, Mrs. Hotchner” he called out.

“Bye Reid. See you tomorrow” Hotch replied and watched him leave.

He wanted to ask the younger man if he could drop him off, but he didn’t seem drunk so Hotch decided not to say anything. But he did decide to stand by the door and watch carefully as Reid got into the car and pick up on any signs of drunkenness.

He heard Haley walked up behind him and then felt her arms around his waist.

“I like him” she mumbled.

“Should I be jealous?” he playfully asked and then turned slightly to wrap his arm around her shoulder and hold her by his side.

“No, but I should be” Haley laughed and Hotch looked at her with wide eyes, not knowing what she meant by that. 

“Excuse me?” he asked confusedly, but before Haley could reply, they heard a honk and watched Reid wave at them, so they waved back.

Once the younger profiler was out of their driveway, Hotch looked at Haley once again, who was smirking at him.

“What the hell did you mean that you should be jealous?” he asked her again and was getting a little frustrated by the look she was giving him.

“Aaron, you’re telling me you really don’t know?” she sounded surprised and that really didn't help Hotch's frustration.

“No. And now would you stop acting so ominous and tell me what’s going on?” he asked, letting go off her.

“Some profiler you are” she scoffed and rolled her eyes “Aaron, Spencer has a crush on you”  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked writing Haley here. The fact that we don't know much about her, opened up all these avenues to write about her. The next chapter will continue from here and it will mostly contain Hotch and Haley, for which I apologize in advance.


	4. The One where Haley Already Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron just never had the chance to tell Haley something significant about his life, but it turns out that his wife is more perceptive than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to stop calling Aaron "Hotch" in the fic and start call him "Aaron" instead. It just made his point of view sound more personal somehow. 
> 
> And yes, I do know how out of character these two sound here. But I like them as the playful couple.

To say that Aaron was shocked would be an understatement. He was just gaping at his wife like a fish out of water. Part of him was thinking that maybe Haley was just messing with him.

“Aaron close your mouth” his wife laughed and walked away from him.

“W-what do you mean that Spencer has a crush on me?” he asked incredulously, as he followed his wife to the living room and sat down on the couch beside her.

“Didn’t you see the way he was looking at you?”

“He was looking at me the same way he always does” he replied, as his voice got a little and he thought back to all the times he and Reid hung out. There was nothing different about him this time. “I don’t know where you get all of these ideas, Haley” he scoffed.

Haley climbed onto his lap and grabbed his shoulder, while facing him. “Do you remember when we started dating in high school and the way I always gave you those moon eyes?”

Aaron’s eyes narrowed as he looked at suspiciously at his wife “Yeah” he replied.

“Well that’s exactly the way Spencer looks at you, Aaron. It’s kind of endearing if they weren’t directed at my husband” she huffed.

“So you’re jealous of Reid?”

“Nah he’s too adorable for me to be jealous of him” she replied and pressed a kiss to Aaron’s forehead. She then watched him intently and her gaze made Aaron a little uncomfortable

“Aaron, you’re never going to take him up on that are you?”

That was so surprising that Aaron found himself snorting and rolling his eyes at his wife. “Why would you even ask that?”

“Because I know what happened between you and Damien” she replied, biting her bottom lip.

Aaron’s eyes widened and looked at his wife in sheer surprise. Damien was Aaron’s high school best friend and they both had went off to Virginia Tech together, where they were roommates. One night while they were getting drunk in their dorm, Damien kissed Aaron, who didn't hesitate before kissing him back.

He and Haley had broken up for a while because of the growing distance between them. The break up had been hard on Aaron and he was sulking away in his room with a picture of Haley from a production of Much Ado about Nothing, clutched between his fingers. She was always really pretty but her beauty was almost ethereal in this picture.

One day Damien had found him like that and decided that enough was enough. So his grand plan to help Aaron involved a 12 pack Corona and a cassette tap with Lionel Richie songs. Unlike Reid, Aaron doesn’t have an eidetic memory but he remembers that day like it were yesterday. Right after the fourth beer, Aaron had suddenly found Damien’s lips on his own and it felt so damn good. Aaron had been unable to stop himself was kissing back like a drowning man who was only held afloat by his best friend’s lips. So before knew it, he was grabbing the other boy’s head and pulling him close to deepen the kiss. The kissing had turned into a full on make out session and they had fumbled their way into Damien’s bed. That night Aaron didn’t even stop to think about what he was doing. All he knew was that he needed his best friend and his best friend was not hesitating to give himself to Aaron.

When they woke up the following morning, there were no regrets, at least on Aaron’s part. However, Damien was feeling guilty as hell and not to mention he looked like he had been hit by a ten-wheeler because of how hungover he was. He got out of bed and paced around in the room, rambling off about how he couldn’t believe he had just cheated on his girlfriend, while Aaron just sat there and assessed him carefully.

Damien refused to speak to him, but Aaron wouldn’t let him walk away. He made the man talk to him, and that’s when Damien broke down and sobbed about how he had to continue pretending he was straight and date Rhonda.

Aaron always knew that he himself was bisexual but he never dated a guy because he was always with Haley.

Damien, on the other hand, confessed that he was gay. He was just dating Rhonda but he was never sexually attracted to her. He was on the college basketball team and back when Aaron was growing up, it was extremely difficult for someone in a college sports team to come out because that could ruin their career.

Aaron still remembers how his heart broke watching Damien cry like that. He was one of those alpha male types, so for him to break down like that in front of another man was a huge deal.

Aaron swore never to speak of that moment again. By the time, second semester swung around, Damien decided to join a fraternity and moved out to live in the frat house.

Aaron hardly saw Damien after that, but when they did, he could see how Damien would relax around him and they would just talk for hours on end.

Aaron was brought out of his thoughts to see his wife just intently watching him. He could usually read the woman’s expressions, but she was making it really difficult right now. But he could tell that she was thinking long and hard about something.

“What happened?”

That startled the blonde. She sat up straight and blushed a little.

“I was just thinking”

“Yeah I know”

She playfully smacked his arm and giggled “Quit profiling me, Aaron. And I was just thinking how- um nothing” she shook her head.

Aaron just watched her suspiciously but decided to let it go... for now.

“So how did you find out about Damien and I?”

“Rhonda told me. Right before we were all supposed to graduate, I got a call from her out of the blue. She and I were never exactly friends, so imagine my surprise” she huffed out a laugh and reached out to touch Aaron’s hair. She raked her fingers through the strands as she continued talking “She told me that Damien broke up with her because he was gay. I had no idea why she was telling me all of this but the way she was talking, it kind of made me scared for Damien" 

Aaron’s jaw tightened and his eyebrows furrowed when Haley told him that. He was always very protective of Damien, especially after the man came out to him. Aaron was willing to be there for him and fight for him if he ever came out to his friends and family.

“And how did she know about Damien and I?” Aaron asked gritting his teeth.

“You know how manipulative she can be. She apparently whined and sobbed and made Damien tell her if he ever slept with anyone while they were dating. So he told her about you and that’s why she called me because she blamed you for their break up” She confessed and then reached down to take both of Aaron’s hands in hers. “Aaron, I know you never cheated on me, okay?”  

Aaron ran his thumbs over her fingers and watched her as he relaxed a little “Why didn’t you ever tell me that you knew? Weren’t you ever curious?”

“I was. But I also saw the way you looked at me, and when we made love you were always passionate and never held back, I never had a reason to doubt that you didn’t love me.”

“I do love you and I always have” Aaron assured her and gently pressed a kiss to her lips. When he pulled apart, he looked at her straight in the eyes and decided that maybe now was the time to tell her the truth about himself “I’m bisexual, Haley.” He bit his lips and waited for a reaction, but he wasn’t expecting the reaction that he got.

Haley eyes watered up as she gave her a proud smile, and then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I know. But I wanted you to tell me yourself”

Aaron was shocked to say the least and he just stared back at her with wide eyes.

“Aaron, stop look at me like that. You’re scaring me” she chuckled and kissed his cheek again. “This doesn’t change anything, Aaron. Like any other heterosexual and homosexual person, you can only love one person at a time and right now you love me, that’s all that matters to me. If in the future, we’re not married anymore or if I’m dead then you’re more than welcome to be with whomever you like but I really hope that person is Spencer because I’ve only known him a day I already adore him” she chuckled and Aaron just frowned at her.

“Nothing’s gonna happen to you, Haley. Spencer is just a really good friend. And you’re it for me. We’re gonna be together til we’re old, wrinkly and sitting beside each other on matching rocking chairs, while we yell at the neighboring kids to get off our property” he assured her and got off the couch.

“Come on. Let’s go to bed. We got a lot of work to do, remember?” he winked at her and laughed a little. A few months ago, they had decided that they were ready to start a family and have been trying for a kid for sometime now. 

Haley rolled her eyes but got up anyway. Aaron wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close as they walked up the stairs.

“So what were you thinking about earlier?” he decided now was the right time to ask her and looked at her curiously.

“Huh?”

“Earlier when we were talking about Damien” 

Haley looked up at him and smirked “I was thinking how- how Damien looked a lot like Derek” she finished and pushed Aaron’s arm aside, before running up the stairs giggling.

Aaron just stood there stunned and then ran after her when he came to it “Damn you, Haley!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun...


End file.
